A day in Beijing and the forbidden city

We had only a 72 hour free transit visa and therefore not much time to spend in this city. We had no expectations but as it always happens, if you are not counting on anything you can always get pleasantly surprised.

By the time we arrived to this city we managed to get into the last express train but we missed the last subway. We tried to find a bus outside but surprisingly there is no service after 11pm or perhaps it was because it was a holiday. The taxi drivers who approached us were offering incredibly expensive rides for us 2 tourists, who basically had no other option. A lady who was waiting to be picked up, offered us to bring us to the hostel for free?! She gave us a warm welcome to her city. 

As mentioned before, we started our short journey in China with a great vibe and we found super friendly people! The city was pretty clean, many people using bicycle or sporting outside and of course great food (chinese food that you find in any country which is not China, is like finding mexican food or good tequila outside of Mexico….. it´s completely not comparable)! 

We walked around in the city center and we entered the forbidden city, in there it was extremely crowded but the rest of the areas that we saw in Beijing were clean and didn’t feel so busy.

 

Visiting the local market

The food magician

A walk through Beihai Park

Beautiful piece of nature in the middle of the city!

No Facebook, no WhatsApp, no Google in China. So mostprobably he´s checking WeChat during work.

Chinese art comparable to the luchadores (wrestlers) in Mexico.

Forbidden city

Spectacular temples!

Enjoying the forbidden city.

A bit crowded here

A chinese wedding shoot.

The scooters here are ready for anything.

Beijing centre

Finally we got to the Donghuamen Night Market!

Fried scorpions!

Fried sea stars… okok This is technically just a show for the tourists

Traditional hand painting.

In the less than 72 hours that we had, Beijing gave us an overwhelming experience! There´s lots to see, the people are incredibely friendly and the food was delicious! This short journey turned out to be a teaser and has triggered us to come back for more. Thank you Beijing, thank you Chinese people and hasta luego!